No banter, no sweat from a model pro - Root

Such were the exertions that Alastair Cook had put himself through in nearly 14 hours at the crease in temperatures easily in the high 30s - and the convention that the England captain usually only speaks after a Test match is finished, except for the occasional TV grab - that for the second day running it was left to a team-mate to marvel at the captain's qualities.

This time it was Joe Root, seemingly leader-elect and a player who will go onto challenge whatever stack of records Cook leaves behind, after he made 85 in dominating a fourth-wicket stand of 141, who was the spokesman.

"As you can imagine being out there for two days it's taken a lot out of him, but I'm sure it's a good pain and one at the start of the week he'd have loved to have had," he said. "I'm sure he'll rest up tonight and be as fresh as a daisy tomorrow.

"It was a hell of an effort, two days in that heat showed huge amounts of skill, concentration and fitness. We spoke a lot as a side about batting long periods of time out here and how important it will be if we are to give ourselves a chance of winning. Our captain has led from the front and set the example for the rest of the series."

Such have been the conditions in the UAE that even Cook - who is well known for not sweating - has had to change his gloves more than ever. There is, as yet, no count on the exact number of pairs or volume of shirts that the third longest Test innings required. Root did, though, say that while Cook may have changed gloves he did not change persona at any stage whether in the middle or the dressing room.

"He was just the same as always, pretty down to earth chats about rubbish. It's a bit like batting in the middle, he doesn't give you any banter or doesn't look like he's overly concentrating. He's just a model professional, he knows what he needs to do and he can switch off when he needs to. I think that's one reason he can bat long periods of time."

Cook's innings, which made him the leading non-Asian batsman in Asia ahead of Jacques Kallis, eventually ended with a top-edged sweep to short fine leg - a shot that had been a key part of his stay - but replays showed that Shoaib Malik's delivery was a no-ball. Although Malik's foot did drag back, it is the first point of planting that matters and he had nothing behind the line. It was one of the increasingly rare dismissals where the front line was not checked, so there was no recourse.

Root, though, acknowledged how the energy-sapping conditions that the players have gone through are the same for the umpires, two men who have to stand in the middle throughout.

"It's disappointing," he said of Cook's dismissal. "It's tough, the umpires are in a position where they can never win. If they make a good decision they are expected to do it, if they make a bad one everyone wants their heads. I have a little of sympathy for the umpires out there in that heat as well, they have to concentration for just as long as we have but you want to see those decision go the right way. Unfortunately everyone makes mistakes."